Chapter 650: Entering the Abyss

Literary Prowess, Xuanjian Immortal Family!

East Sea.

Pine winds rustled on Fenkuai Island. Li Xizhi, dressed in white, sat quietly by a table. There was no one else around, and it was remarkably quiet, with only the moonlight falling upon the table.

The man held a jade pot, pacing back and forth by the table without sitting down.

His wife, Yang Xiao'er, had entered seclusion two years ago to break through to Foundation Establishment, and there had been no news of her since, causing him constant worry. Soon after, he received news that Li Xijun had died in the East Sea while trying to seize the Mingfang Heavenly Stone.

Upon hearing the news, Li Xizhi immediately retreated to the inner hall, shedding tears and unable to compose himself for a long time. Several years had passed since then, but he still often thought of it.

“Jun’er.”

Li Xizhi poured wine, filling the cup opposite him as well. His heart was already filled with complex emotions.

Li Xizhi had returned home several times, and Li Xijun had always had detailed conversations with him. Li Xijun was inherently calm, but after receiving the spiritual energy of the talisman, he had become even more emotionless.

“Cheng-ge'er gained his position and felt uneasy. Ximing was soft-shouldered and full of guilt. But what about Jun'er? First, he reported Ximing, then questioned Cheng-ge'er, then eliminated future troubles by sending Yuexiang away… His fear was the greatest.”

“What a tangled mess… How can anyone make sense of it!”

Li Xizhi, an outsider to the family's core affairs, actually saw the intricacies of the Li family's matters most clearly and knew the most. Pouring wine onto the ground, he murmured:

“Grandfather often said the four Xi were amicable… Yet, mere camaraderie cannot encompass it. A lack of kinship led to an insoluble blend of resentment and guilt. Unable to hate, yet unable to reveal their envy and fear… All of it was to complete a single divine ability.”

He poured three cups onto the ground, then bowed deeply. He put away the pot and cups, burying all his emotions. He then calmly walked out of the forest, where Li Wushao was coming to meet him.

This old demon was already in the late Foundation Establishment stage. It seemed that with changes in his mindset, his previous youthful appearance, formed through transformation, had gradually faded. His face had acquired a stern expression with more pronounced wrinkles, and he bowed respectfully, saying:

“Young Master!”

Li Xizhi took the letter from his hand, glancing at it twice. Then he turned to ask him:

“Wushao, how effective were the Muhai Essence and the Spirit-Enhancing Qi Pill?”

Although Li Wushao was in the late Foundation Establishment stage, his actual strength was somewhat lacking. If he were to truly face a disciple of an immortal sect, a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator would likely be able to handle him, which was naturally insufficient.

Therefore, Li Xizhi specifically sought out two alchemists on Fenkuai Island to examine him. Both were veteran practitioners who had seen many spirit beasts. After carefully examining him, they were somewhat surprised.

“Although this beast lacks inherent divine prowess, its bloodline is quite peculiar. Its ancestors might have had some cultivation or consumed some spiritual medicine like Azure Profundity. It's truly a great tonic!”

“If this beast could be put into a cauldron, it would surely yield an excellent batch of Suiyuan Pills!”

Li Wushao was stunned by these words, his eyes showing both confusion and ferocity. Only after Li Xizhi explained carefully did the two alchemists realize that he wanted pills to enhance strength. They readily agreed but still expressed some regret:

“Sir, are you truly not refining Suiyuan Pills? This demon is excellent material; if you help him restore his foundation, it would affect the taste if he were put into a cauldron later.”

The old snake's face was already awfully grim. Li Xizhi, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, sent the alchemists away, but his mind became active:

“Wushao was born a black hook snake; his bloodline isn't naturally superior. It’s probably due to the Six Weir Fate Allocation Method replenishing him so many times that he has gained some benefits.”

The family using the Grand Yin Lunar Essence for fate allocation was probably a luxury even for prominent clans like the Wang and Xie families. No wonder the alchemist said it was a great tonic. So, he specifically found a good spiritual item, refined it into a pill, and gave it to Li Wushao to consume.

Upon hearing his words, Li Wushao gradually manifested a body covered in ink-black scales. His eyes, too, turned black, and he buzzed:

“Your subordinate cultivates the Morning Cold Rain of the Manor Water lineage, and now my divine abilities are more pronounced. I can now manipulate Weak Water and suppress spell winds…”

He demonstrated his various divine abilities. Li Xizhi watched, looking as if he wanted to speak but refrained, then softly said:

“Excellent. I will find more spells for you when I have the chance; they will surely make you even more formidable.”

Li Wushao's mouth twitched, and he nodded in gratitude. He thought to himself:

‘What kind of people are these from the Li clan… Not to mention the sword immortals of old, that fierce Li Xuanfeng could make anyone fall and cry for their mother with a single arrow, no matter what spell they used… Now the Young Master's cultivation is increasingly profound, giving an unfathomable feeling… And there are still the Heir and Qinghong…’

Li Xizhi, however, paid no mind to his thoughts. He reviewed the message in his hand, then scoffed and shook his head, saying:

“This is truly interesting… I thought Ning Hejing wouldn't be able to hold back, but this person has surprisingly become honest! Instead, Chi Fubai acted ruthlessly, taking the initiative and actually pulling him down from his position!”

Li Wushao then showed delight and quietly asked:

“Is it a good thing that they are fighting amongst themselves?”

“Good thing?!”

Li Xizhi shook his head, saying sarcastically:

“How could it be a good thing? None of these fellows are stupid. With a major enemy at hand… How could they so rashly turn on each other? Hmm? Who doesn't know the saying, 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind'?”

He scanned through the various personnel changes and chuckled:

“Rather than tearing at each other, it's more like a compromise. Ning Hejing lost his position as Peak Master of Yuanxing Peak, but all his trusted subordinates remain securely in their posts… How could this be?”

Li Wushao read the list twice. Seeing the dense array of names, he suddenly felt overwhelmed and cursed inwardly:

“Damn it… humans are just too cunning! They should just fight it out instead of all this scheming.”

But even as he cursed inwardly, he humbly sought advice, asking:

“So the Ning and Chi families are deceiving us?”

“Not exactly.”

Li Xizhi shook his head and chuckled:

“They are indeed fighting, but after the conflict, everyone ends up perfectly content, having exchanged benefits. Ning Hejing, a heavyweight sect leader, stepping down from that peak naturally means he'll have a better place to go!”

“The Chi family doesn't have enough manpower, so they naturally wouldn't fall out with the Ning family. Keeping those people on the peak serves two purposes: first, they gain support and divide the Ning family; second, it stabilizes Ning Hejing's emotions…”

Li Wushao thought for a moment and asked:

“Go where?”

“As for where he'll go?”

Li Xizhi answered casually, pointing a finger at the bamboo forest behind him, and softly said:

“Naturally, it's for him to come to the East Sea! No matter which of the two factions loses, they will take over my current position. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation? Ning Hejing is formidable but lacks strategy, so it will definitely be him.”

“Firstly, it gets rid of this eyesore from the sect. Secondly, they can control one of the two most crucial seas. As long as Chi Xuxiao speaks, how can Ning Hejing refuse? Once he arrives in the East Sea, he'll be busy managing subordinates and eliminating dissidents, with no time to care about internal sect affairs. All this fighting ultimately weakens the Si family's power and strengthens their own!”

Li Wushao was silent for a long moment, then quietly said:

“What about Lord Si? How can he just sit back and do nothing…”

“The East Sea was meant to be given up long ago.”

Li Xizhi sighed with regret:

“It's just a pity about this bamboo forest. That fellow likes to set up iron pillars, covering the entire mountain like a hedgehog. They probably won't be able to keep it…”

Knowing he had a plan, Li Wushao quietly said:

“As for us now…”

“Hmm…”

Li Xizhi softly said:

“Before the order arrives, let's go to the island's Abyssal Chasm under the pretext of inspection… We'll leave the mess to that fellow and properly search for treasures before we leave.”

A rainbow light flickered in his hand, and he thought to himself:

“As long as the order hasn't arrived, I can use this method to excuse myself, and both sides will be satisfied. As for the incomplete accounts… they are naturally left for Lord Ning. He is exceptionally talented; even without assistance from subordinates, he can sort everything out clearly.”

Li Xizhi pondered for a moment, then quickly took up his brush, wrote two letters, and sent them home. He did not linger, packed up his dwelling, and left immediately.

He stepped out, leaving a letter for his subordinates. Taking the old demon with him, he rode the wind to the center of the island, where he saw a massive chasm. The exposed cliff faces were stark red, and several gold-robed cultivators stood before the chasm.

The cultivators bowed to him one after another, and Li Xizhi softly said:

“So, today it is the Golden Feather Immortal Sect's turn to maintain and reinforce this place. I wish to enter and explore; please open the grand formation.”

The relationship between the Golden Feather Sect and the Azure Pool Sect had always been lukewarm. Yet, these cultivators seemed quite friendly towards him, calling him 'Daoist' as they brought out a map, chuckling:

“The earth veins have slightly changed in recent months. Perhaps one of the Three Shaoyang Sovereigns had a change of temperament or went to visit a fellow Daoist. Please be careful, Daoist.”

The Abyssal Chasm on Fenkuai Island was formed when the Demon Monarch was split into three. Various energies were mixed within, and while the evil qi of the earth veins, descending water, and rising thunder didn't affect it much, it often changed due to the movements of the Three True Monarchs.

“Very well.”

This was exactly what Li Xizhi wanted to hear. He nodded his thanks. Without a moment's delay, he quickly took Li Wushao and descended into the chasm.

As his figure disappeared into the Abyssal Chasm, the three Golden Feather Sect disciples resealed the grand formation. One of the women quietly said:

“So this is Li Xizhi of the Wangyue Li family? He's truly handsome, and his strength appears not to be underestimated.”

“Naturally!”

Another person's face showed a hint of pride as he shook his head and said:

“My sect's Grand-Uncle Zhang Yun, who is in seclusion, is a close friend of Li Tongya. The Immortal Bow, Li Xuanfeng, even calls him 'Martial Uncle'! How could the descendants of such people be ordinary?”

He extended his affection, developing a considerable fondness for Li Tongya because of Zhang Yun. This also gave him a good impression of the entire Li family. Li Tongya was renowned, but Zhang Yun's reputation among rogue cultivators was not as prominent, so he quickly brought him up to highlight his own Grand-Uncle.

The three chatted and laughed for a while. Then they saw a streak of light rapidly descending onto the island. It circled the peak once, then immediately turned towards their location, landing before them, and a voice urgently asked:

“Where is Peak Master Changtian?”

‘Si Tongyi…’

The three naturally recognized him but scoffed at him. They simply replied indifferently:

“The Daoist has entered the formation.”

‘Good… good.’

Si Tongyi immediately let out a sigh of relief, sighed inwardly, and turned to leave. Several hours later, another streak of light rapidly descended onto the peak, circled once, and likewise headed towards their location.

This person carried an Azure Pool seal, his face filled with shock, and he asked:

“Where is Peak Master Changtian?!”

The three recognized him as someone from the Chi family. Some read, others cultivated; none paid him any attention.

The Azure Water Scaled Beast emerged from the sea, its palace on its back revealing only glimpses of its scales and feathers in the air before submerging back into the water. Huicao waited until the enormous scaled beast had docked, then opened the palace doors and respectfully said:

“My lord, please.”

Li Zhouwei emerged from the palace, and Kong Heng was already waiting on the shore. The monk craned his neck, only relaxing once he saw Li Zhouwei dismount from the beast's back.

Huicao still held a basket of pearls, each as large as a fist and dazzlingly bright. Watching the expressions on both men's faces, he quietly pushed them into Kong Heng's hand, saying:

“My lord, please accept these… The king of the undersea realm is timid and isn't the type of demon who would do such things. After being frightened, she couldn't sleep day and night… Please, my lord, show some leniency…”

Kong Heng, being kind-hearted, listened to his rambling for a moment and already understood most of the situation. His hand had already reached for the basket, but fearing to mess things up, he raised an eyebrow to look at Li Zhouwei.

Seeing Li Zhouwei nod, Huicao was overjoyed and repeatedly expressed his thanks. Kong Heng simply supported him and gently said:

“Fellow Daoist Huicao is kind-hearted; truly a good demon.”

Huicao was puzzled, as he had committed quite a few bad deeds and felt a bit embarrassed, but he meekly agreed with him. Li Zhouwei turned to look at the other side, where a young man in armor stood holding a sword.

Chen Yang had guarded the island for years. Li Zhouwei and Li Cheng were both in seclusion cultivating, and Kong Heng wasn't adept at management. Most of the affairs were handled by him. Although his cultivation was only at the third level of Qi Condensation, his demeanor had changed considerably.

The malice and suspicion that had once flickered in his eyes had completely vanished from his face. Chen Yang had a Li family face; without those slightly crude expressions, he appeared composed.

However, when he looked at Li Zhouwei, he still kept his gaze lowered to his cheeks, avoiding those golden eyes, and respectfully said:

“Greetings, my lord!”

“Rise.”

Li Zhouwei's gaze did not linger on his face; he turned to chat briefly with Huicao. The demon then rode his beast back, and Chen Yang counted the pearls, quietly saying:

“My lord, there are sixteen Lian Pearls, just barely at the threshold of Foundation Establishment spiritual items.”

Li Zhouwei stepped into the palace, speaking softly as he went:

“Keep them well. Their quality is decent. If refined individually, they could at most be high-grade Qi Condensation items. Once we return to the lake, it would be best if all sixteen could form a set and be refined into a set of Foundation Establishment artifacts.”

Chen Yang carefully put them away, then took out a jade slip from his robes, held it with both hands, and bowed respectfully, saying:

“My lord, all aspects of the island's activities over the past few years—appointments and promotions, spiritual mines and spiritual rice—are recorded within. The annual surpluses are all documented, without the slightest error!”

Li Zhouwei took it and glanced over it. He had to admit that Chen Yang had managed the island exceptionally well these past few years. Every spiritual field and mineral deposit was immaculately managed, and the annual surplus even surpassed that of the previous three years combined.

‘This person is ambitious and ruthless, but his abilities are beyond doubt. The island is full of overseas cultivators; precisely such a person is needed to keep them in check.’

It was precisely because Chen Yang was ambitious that he didn't touch the island's output at all. All the cultivators feared him to the extreme. Li Cheng's ability was already considered outstanding, yet he still had to concede some benefits to win people's hearts. Under Chen Yang's governance, however, administration was exceptionally clean.

Kong Heng waited for a while until Li Zhouwei finished reading. Only then did he hand over the letter he held, remaining silent.

Li Zhouwei casually took the letter and glanced at it with lowered brows. He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for several breaths before raising his eyebrows, exhaling, and asking:

“Did Uncle Ximing say anything?”

Kong Heng shook his head. Li Zhouwei waved for Chen Yang to withdraw. He sat quietly in the hall for a few breaths. Seeing Kong Heng's pale face, Li Zhouwei said somewhat hoarsely:

“With Uncle gone, I must return quickly.”